Nothing but Flowers

A social media CEO and his spiritual advisor are on a forest retreat, working to develop new technology for communicating with the natural world. An inventor and her bear live in the same woods, and are working on the same thing. Both their devices work. Sort of.

A play written by David Gagnon Walker (Playwriting 3, Edmonton) and directed by Rose Plotek.

Poster design by Erika Parra Bernal (Set and Costume Design, 3rd year, Palmira, Colombia)

The New Words Festival is the culminating project of the graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada’s English Section. Two brand-new, never-before-produced plays run in repertory during the students’ final week at the School, just days before graduation. Written by students in NTS’s Playwriting Program, and realized by students in the Acting, Production Design and Technical Arts, and Set and Costume Design programs, the plays produced at the New Words Festival mark the end of the students’ formal training and the beginning of their professional careers. A showcase for exciting new talent, New Words is particularly poignant for the playwrights whose plays reach the public for the very first time during their tenure at NTS. Join us in celebrating these artists who will shape the future of Canadian theatre by taking in both exciting productions on offer this year!

-Andrea Romaldi, Director of the Playwriting program

Interview with the Playwright

David Gagnon Walker (Playwriting 3, Edmonton, AB) talks about his play Nothing but Flowers, and the serious questions it raises about our relationship with nature and technology, and our ability to connect with the world around us.

David Gagnon Walker, Playwright

David Gagnon Walker is a playwright, dramaturg, and performer with roots in Edmonton, AB, and Chicoutimi, QC. His works prioritize formal experimentation, integrating text-based drama with other modes of contemporary performance. They include The Big Ship (winner of the 2018 Playwrights Guild of Canada RBC Emerging Playwright Award), Nothing but Flowers(New Words Festival 2019, directed by Rose Plotek), Premium Content (Major Matt Mason Collective 2018, directed by Geoffrey Simon Brown), and Pink Moon (winner of the 2017 Wildfire National Playwriting Competition, created and performed with The General Radio Service). Dramaturgy includes The Observed Flight of Birds (2b Theatre/NTS, 2017), Trying to Listen While Not Giving a Fuck, (Surreal SoReal/Zone Homa, 2018), and the contemporary circus show Particle # B(Grenoble, France, 2018; 2019 tour to Australia and Finland).

David also works as a translator (French-to-English), actor, and educator. He is the 2019 RBC Emerging Artist-in-Residence with Halifax's 2b Theatre Company.

Team

CAST

Graduating students Acting

Sophie Dubé ^A3
Jesse LaPointe ^A3
Evelyn Wiebe ^A3
Kajsa Wood ^A3
Jake Wilkinson (Acting, 2018)

CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION TEAM

Assistant Director David Gagnon Walker ^PW3
Set and Props Designer Erika Parra Bernal ^SCD3
Set assistant Marianne Lonergan-Pilotto ^SCD2 and Jeanne Dupré ^SCD3, Joline Rath ^SCD2, Jawon Kang ^SCD2
Costume Designer Hannah Fisher ^SCD3
Assistants to the Costume Designer Jawon Kang ^SCD2
Lighting Designer Hannah Kirby ^PT3
Sound Designer Samuel Boucher ^PT3
Video Designer Pedro Melão-Ferreira ^PT3
Stage Manager Gloria Mok ^PT3
Assistant Stage Manager Aurora Torok ^PT1
Production Manager Claire Bourdin ^PT3
Technical Director MacKenzie Poole ^PT3
Assistant Technical Director Patrick Fitzsimmons ^PT2
Crew & 2nd Assistant Technical Director Tiffany Ledesma ^PT1
Crew & Technical Assistant Brenda Vaca ^PT1
Head Carpenter Michael Wanless ^PT2
Head Electrician Zack Fedora ^PT2
Crew & Lighting Assistant Brianna Unger ^PT1
Head of Video Christian Horoszczak ^PT2
Crew & Video Assistant Brendan Agnew ^PT1
Head of Sound/Live Mixer Paige Prystupa ^PT2
Crew & Sound Assistant Ava Bishop ^PT1

LEGEND
A3 Third year Acting graduating students, SCD3 Third year Set and Costume Design graduating students, PT3 Third year Production Design and Technical Arts graduating students,PW3 Third year Playwriting graduating students, SCD2 Second year Set and Costume Design students, PT2 Second year Production Design and Technical Arts students, PT1 First year Production Design and Technical Arts students, ART Artistic Residence in training

COACHES

Dramaturgy - Andrea Romaldi, Movement - Rebecca Harper, Voice - Laurel Thomson, Fight Director - Anita Nittoly, Associate Fight Director - David Chinchilla, Set & Costume Design - Loïc Hoy Lacroix, Head of Props - Angela Rassenti, Lighting Design - Michelle Ramsay, Video Design - Alex Williams, Sound Design - Troy Slocum, Production Management - Andrea Lundy, Stage Management - Crystal Laffoley, Technical Direction - Nathaniel Kennedy, Head of Scenic Painting - Véronique Pagnoux, Head of Carpentry - Guillaume Simard ,Master Carpenter - Christian Larochelle, Technical Supervision - David Jodoin, Head of Lighting - Marc Leduc, Head of Sound - Xavier Berthiaume

Performances

Preview: April 27, 2019, 6:30pm
April 30, 2019 at 7:30pm
May 1^st, 2019 at 6:30pm
May 2^nd, 2019 at 9:00pm
May 3^rd, 2019 at 6:30pm
May 4^th, 2019 at 6:00pm

Venue

Monument-National
Studio Hydro-Québec
1182, St-Laurent Blvd

Tickets

Book your tickets through the box office of the Monument-National now!
This show is Pay What You Think! Make an online donation and get a tax receipt, or deposit the amount of your choice in the identified boxes after the show.